This invention relates to construction toy systems. More particularly, it relates to both hub and rod construction toy systems based on hermaphroditic and identical (genderless) connectors, and to building block systems also based on genderless connectors. In many cases the genderless connectors are integral to the parts being connected. And the genderless connectors greatly extend the range of applications for this invention.
This is a crowded art with much activity in the construction toy system part of it, with many U.S. patents, referred to by number below, known to the inventor that have some pertinence. U.S. Pat. No. 1,113,371 discloses the original rod and hub construction toy system with wooden hubs and rods and with the rod inserted into a hole in the hub and held there by friction and compression (interference fit). U.S. Pat. No. 1,707,691 discloses a hub and rod construction toy system with a hub of stamped metal and wooden rods with slit ends. The connection is formed by inserting the metal hub into the rod-end slit.
A great many construction toy systems allow identical elements to be interconnected but with only a few exceptions noted below the actual connections are not genderless. Instead, the male and female connecting elements are placed on opposite ends of the block or hub. In any event, we found no construction system that allowed genderless connection between non-identical elements, e.g., between hub and rod. U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,632 discloses a typical building block system that allows identical blocks to be interconnected by means of a male element on one side and female elements on three other sides. But U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,743 discloses a nearly genderless building block system. But in this system when genderless connections are made the elements are no longer aligned and regular figures can not be constructed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,662 discloses a construction toy system with genderless interconnection for hubs connected orthogonally. But hub and rod connections in the same plane are effected with rods that connect across the face of the hubs and do not form a genderless connection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,196 discloses a hub and rod construction toy system with genderless rod-rod connections but without any way of directly connecting the hubs.
Various concepts from the construction and other industries have been adapted to construction toy systems. U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,404 discloses a hub and rod construction system designed to be used with hollow rods. The construction toy system disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,078,328 and 5,049,105 uses a similar connection system. U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,335 discloses a hub and rod and panel snap together construction system. The hub and rod construction toy system disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,061,219, 5,137,486 and 5,199,919 uses a retaining clip similar to the one disclosed in the ""335 patent. The ""486 patent does disclose a genderless hub-hub connection for orthogonally connecting hubs. However, the means of connecting the hubs is not the same means as connecting rods to hubs.
Other mechanical connectors include U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,339, which discloses a torque transfer device for flexible shaft couplings. Each shaft has an extended portion with forked ends defining teeth. The teeth are inserted orthogonally to each other. U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,556 discloses a power shaft coupling including a coupling mechanism having elongate square bars defining extensions. These extensions may be mutually inserted in orthogonal positional relationship. U.S. Pat. No. 2,577,508 is a universal coupling with bifurcated tongues that mate. U.S. Pat. No. 2,832,943 is a detachable coupling in which the male and female members are not identical but do have an orthogonal insert relationship. U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,222 is a universal joint with yoke members including cross-pintles for connecting the yoke members together.
Hermaphroditic connectors have been used in the electronic connector industry. The invention disclosed herein grew out of our prior electronic connector inventions as shown in U.S. Pat. No. No. 5,183,409 and in our continuation in part application filed on Aug. 01, 1994.
Other presently known U.S. patents of interest are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,516,043; 3,070,769; 2,690,542; 3,011,143; 4,199,208; 3,634,811; 2,996,026; 3,070,769; 2,475,046; 2,470,282; 1,865,300; 2,577,508; 607,607; 3,552,145; 1,171,380; 2,740,271; 4,172,369; 2,460,231; 534,732, and 2,389,115. It is believed that the present invention is patentably distinct from the teachings of any of the above-cited Patents.
Disclosed is an improvement to the construction toy systems disclosed in our prior applications referred to above all of which that describe toy systems all of whose parts directly interconnect by means of genderless connectors. These new inventions include a square hub, which by itself can fulfill the role of the three basic components of the inventions disclosed in our prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,416xe2x80x94hub, short rod and long rod (the basic components of a hub-and-rod construction system). Said new invention augments our prior inventions but also can be completely independent of them because by itself it can be used to construct the standard logarithmic spiral that is the test of the correctness and usefulness of a hub and rod system. And as can be seen in the illustrations, it can be used to construct rectangular wallsxe2x80x94a feat that no basic hub and rod system can accomplish. Also disclosed are: a new beam-and-beam construction system also based on genderless connectors similar to connectors disclosed in our previous patents and swivel connectors similar to those that we have previously disclosed. Genderless demi-rivets are also disclosed that, when connected together, form a rivet.
By the use of these genderless connectors plus the disclosed improvements, a very wide range of very different and independent toy systems can be designed that freely inter-connect. In fact, the invention disclosed in the related application with the addition of the improvements disclosed in this application allows for the creation of a near universal construction toy systemxe2x80x94one that allows for free inter-connection across a wide range of construction toy types: hub-and-rod, beam-and-beam, blocks, and geodesics all in a range of sizes that makes them appropriate for various age groups from toddler (very large and easy to grasp) to adult (miniature, precision) with all the pieces from all the sizes and types interconnecting.